Grading

The ﬁnal grade will be based on homework and a ﬁnal exam:

Homework (75%) - There will be 9 one-week problem sets, due in class one week after they are assigned. Students are allowed three grace periods of two days each that can be used at any time (but no more than 1 grace period per homework set). Late homework beyond the grace period will not be accepted without a note from the health center or the Dean.

Final exam (25%) - The ﬁnal will be handed out the last day of class and is due back at the end of ﬁnals week. Open book, time limit to be decided (likely 3 hours in one sitting)

The lowest homework score you receive will be dropped in computing your homework average. In addition, if your score on the ﬁnal is higher than the weighted average of your homework and ﬁnal, your ﬁnal will be used to determine your course grade.

In addition, all students in the class must sign in at office hours at least once in the first three weeks of the course, or sign up for [1] and post a question or response.

Collaboration Policy

Collaboration on homework assignments is encouraged. You may consult outside reference materials, other students, the TA, or the instructor. Use of solutions from previous years in the course or from other external sources is not allowed. All solutions that are handed should reﬂect your understanding of the subject matter at the time of writing.

[piazza.com/caltech/fall2011/acmee116 Piazza] - an online collaboration site for the course has been established at Piazza.com. This site can be used to post questions and give responses (from students or instructors).